I Can Still Salvage It

That afternoon, Xu Jing mentioned that the school was organizing an autumn outing.

However, Shen Mian didn’t pay much attention to it because there had been rumors all year that their class’s autumn outing would be canceled.

Unexpectedly, when school was over today, teacher Ding came in to announce the news. He said that because there were too many people in their grade, the school decided to split the autumn outing into groups. Classes 1234 would be going to the neighboring vacation resort called Du Jia Shan Zhuang, next to the Yunshui Scenic Area. They would be gone for three days and two nights and return in the afternoon of the third day.

As soon as that news was announced, the whole class screamed in excitement, like a pot of boiling water. Teacher Ding tried to calm them down several times, but eventually gave up. It was rare that he didn’t nag them about extracurricular activities affecting their studies. Instead, he smiled at them.

Shen Mian also perked up a bit. He had been tormented all day by his fluctuating emotions. Pei Zhiyi was sitting next to him, tempting him like a piece of cheese smeared with honey, luring the little mouse to come closer, while he had to pretend that everything was normal.

Now that he heard about the autumn outing, Shen Mian felt relieved. It would be good to temporarily leave the school, hang out with everyone, laugh and have fun. He could escape facing his own inner feelings.

Two days later, they boarded the school bus together with the other three classes and set off.

Shen Mian and Pei Zhiyi sat in the back row. Shen Mian felt a little carsick, so he ate a sour plum candy, and there was a hint of sour-sweet scent when he spoke to Pei Zhiyi.

Mu Lingling and Xu Qian were sitting together in front of them. Shen Mian remembered that Xu Qian seemed to like Pei Zhiyi. He hadn’t thought much about it before, but now he couldn’t help paying a little more attention to Xu Qian.

But his frequent glances at Xu Qian caught Pei Zhiyi’s attention.

Pei Zhiyi asked, “Why do you keep looking at others?”

Shen Mian hesitated for a moment. He couldn’t say that he wanted to see if she still liked him or not, so he gave a vague answer, “It’s nothing. The bag she has is pretty.”

Xu Qian had brought a small Spider-Man bag and was showing it to Mu Lingling while chatting and whispering in excitement.

This time, Pei Zhiyi believed it because Shen Mian also liked those things. He squeezed Shen Mian’s finger and said, “I’ll buy you one too when we get back.”

Shen Mian couldn’t help but smile. It was as if he was being treated like a child. Whenever he showed an interest in something, Pei Zhiyi would always be like a doting parent and get it for him.

Shen Mian leaned against Pei Zhiyi’s shoulder and muttered softly, “You’re spoiling me.”

He would become unruly and unreasonable, wanting everything, including you.

But Pei Zhiyi didn’t think it was a big deal and casually said, “Then let me spoil you.”

Shen Mian didn’t say anything else. He held the sour plum candy in his mouth and fell asleep.

The bus ride wasn’t bumpy, but he slowly slipped off Pei Zhiyi’s shoulder. However, instead of falling, Pei Zhiyi caught him in time and let him half lean against his chest.

Midway, Mu Lingling turned around to talk to Shen Mian but met Pei Zhiyi’s cold gaze instead. As if knowing what she was about to do, Pei Zhiyi put a finger to his lips and gently shushed her. Mu Lingling was taken aback.

Because Pei Zhiyi’s eyes were really beautiful, like amber under the sunlight, cold and noble. When he focused on someone, it could easily tug at their heartstrings.

Mu Lingling thought she wasn’t interested in Pei Zhiyi, but her heart skipped a beat. She looked at Shen Mian, who was sleeping peacefully, and nodded obediently, then turned away.

She held Xu Qian’s hand and thought for a moment before saying, “Qian’er, there are beautiful people everywhere. Giving up on Pei Zhiyi is the right thing to do.”

She used to think she had a rotten eye for judging people, but now she really suspected that something was going on between Pei Zhiyi and Shen Mian.

However, such baseless speculations couldn’t be said out loud, and she didn’t even fully believe it herself. She thought it might be her own wishful thinking, so she could only keep it to herself, feeling extremely stifled.

Meanwhile, Xu Qian was busy looking at the boy bands she recently became a fan of, her eyes full of excitement for their love stories, so she didn’t pay much attention to what Mu Lingling was saying.

After more than three hours, the bus arrived at their destination.

Once Shen Mian got off the bus, he no longer felt carsick and became lively again. The school had arranged a nice accommodation and sightseeing package for them. The vacation resort’s hotel was very comfortable, with some rooms having double beds, while others had twin beds, all based on luck.

Shen Mian and Pei Zhiyi got a room with a double bed. Since it was at the end of the corridor, both the bedroom and the bathroom were quite spacious, and there was even a circular bathtub in the bathroom.

After putting their things down, Shen Mian and Pei Zhiyi went out to join their classmates.

Next to the vacation resort was a famous suspension bridge above a canyon. The canyon was now adorned with blooming red maple leaves, creating a dreamlike and enchanting scene, attracting everyone to line up and visit.

Shen Mian and Pei Zhiyi stood in line, listening to a couple in front of them talking.

The boy said, “I checked the travel guide; there’s a legend about this bridge. Couples who walk hand in hand here will never part in this lifetime.”

The girl beside him snorted, “It’s just a made-up story by the tourist area to fool you. You believe it?”

Despite her words, she still held the boy’s hand and walked up the bridge.

If it were in the past, Shen Mian would have undoubtedly held Pei Zhiyi’s hand without hesitation, just like any other couple coming to that romantic spot. But he hesitated and felt embarrassed to reach out. After all, they were just ordinary friends among the tourists, not a couple.

In what capacity should they hold hands?

However, without him reaching out, Pei Zhiyi naturally took his hand out of his pocket and firmly held it in his palm, saying to Shen Mian, “There are many people, don’t get lost.”

Shen Mian: “…”

He looked around at the sparsely populated bridge and couldn’t understand why Pei Zhiyi said that. The bridge only allowed twenty people at a time to avoid overcrowding.

But he didn’t withdraw his hand, and they walked across the entire bridge like that.

Underneath the bridge was the canyon, filled with red maple trees, the most beautiful season. It looked like clusters of burning flames from a distance.

But as Shen Mian looked down at the red maple trees below the walkway, he couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel to fall from there.

Ever since he became aware of his feelings for Pei Zhiyi, he felt like he was floating in the air, and if he made the wrong choice, he would fall from the sky and shatter into pieces.

So walking on that suspended bridge didn’t scare him; instead, he felt a strange sense of relief.

Of course, he wouldn’t actually fall. Pei Zhiyi firmly held his hand, and they safely reached the end of the bridge.

After they all came down from the bridge, they went to the nearby theater to watch a performance. By the time they finished watching, it was getting late so they went back to the hotel and played cards.

Since Shen Mian and Pei Zhiyi had the largest room, it was naturally chosen as the gathering place.

They all sat on the wooden floor in a circle, surrounded by snacks and drinks.

Xu Jing was in charge of shuffling the cards, but before dealing, Mu Lingling said, “Playing cards is boring. How about we play Truth or Dare?”

No one objected, so they put the cards away and temporarily switched to a spinning bottle.

Shen Mian and Pei Zhiyi had been lucky so far, enjoying the spectacle of others, but in the third round, their luck seemed to run out, as Pei Zhiyi was chosen.

Pei Zhiyi raised an eyebrow and looked at the excited eyes of the people around him, knowing that he wouldn’t be asked basic questions.

And Shen Mian, the little heartless one, joined in the laughter, sipping on his bubble tea with a smirk and tapping the floor along with the others.

“Go ahead,” Pei Zhiyi said.

Mu Lingling was more reserved compared to Xu Jing, but the other boys couldn’t care less. They banged on things to create an atmosphere and asked, “Brother Pei, have you ever kissed someone?”

Shen Mian burst out laughing, spewing his bubble tea.

He didn’t expect Xu Jing and the others to ask that.

What the hell, the previous questions were all innocent!

But no one paid attention to him. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Pei Zhiyi with gleeful anticipation.

Pei Zhiyi remained calm and composed. His gaze swept past Shen Mian, and he calmly replied, “Yes.”

The room fell silent for a second, and then screams threatened to lift the roof.

Xu Jing and Mu Lingling went nearly crazy. They clapped their hands and asked, “Who? Who! Which girl took your first kiss?”

Shen Mian coughed even harder, his face turning red, unable to tell if it was from coughing or embarrassment.

But Pei Zhiyi remained calm from start to finish. He smiled at Mu Lingling and Xu Jing and said, “That’s the second question.”

But Pei Zhiyi’s luck seemed to be truly bad that day.

He was chosen by the spinning bottle for the second time and became the target of interrogation again.

This caused a second wave of excitement in the room. Even before anyone asked a question, they started to cheer and some even played rock-paper-scissors to determine who would get the chance to ask.

Pei Zhiyi stared at the spinning bottle, suspecting foul play.

And Shen Mian couldn’t even bear to imagine what would happen next. He covered his face, unwilling to face it.

As expected, the person who got the chance to ask Pei Zhiyi couldn’t wait and asked, “The person you kissed, is she from our class?”

Everyone’s eyes locked onto Pei Zhiyi, waiting to see where his gaze would wander. If it was someone from their class and present, a glance would reveal the answer.

Unfortunately, Pei Zhiyi’s gaze didn’t shift for even a moment.

He shrugged and said, “I’ll pass on this question. I’ll accept the punishment.”

Without waiting for anyone else to speak, he picked up the full glass of rum next to the spinning bottle.

He drank it quickly, his face devoid of any expression, only a slight movement of his Adam’s apple could be seen.

A few girls took a deep breath and whispered to each other, “Why does drinking make him look even more handsome?”

And the boys applauded, some even whistled, “Pei bro is awesome!”

That glass of rum was not watered down. It only had ice cubes, soda water, and a twist of lemon juice. Everyone hesitated to accept the punishment because they were afraid of getting drunk, but Pei Zhiyi didn’t hesitate at all. He drank it clean.

Pei Zhiyi threw the paper cup into the trash can and when he returned, Shen Mian pulled him over and touched his abdomen, whispering, “Doesn’t it upset your stomach to drink so much? You could have chosen a dare instead.”

But Pei Zhiyi chuckled lightly.

He truly had a high alcohol tolerance, and that glass of alcohol couldn’t bring him down. However, the alcohol still had a subtle effect on him. The cold liquor burned in his stomach, using his rationality as fuel, causing him to remove his usual calm and reserved mask.

He leaned close to Shen Mian’s ear and said, “If I chose a dare, they might have asked me to kiss someone else. But I don’t want to kiss anyone else.”

Shen Mian, who hadn’t even drunk much, felt like he was getting drunk just from hearing Pei Zhiyi’s words.

He couldn’t even hear the laughter and commotion behind him anymore. Heat spread from his ears to his spine, igniting his emotions.

With moist eyes, he glanced at Pei Zhiyi like an ignorant and innocent fawn looking at a hunter in the forest.

After playing the game for a while, it became boring, and there were no more questions as exciting as Pei Zhiyi’s. So they switched back to playing cards.

They played until ten o’clock in the evening, and no one wanted to go to sleep. Somehow, they started discussing the gossip within their grade.

High school was always like that, filled with a lot of unfounded gossip— who had a crush on whom, who was dating someone, and who might break up with whom.

Shen Mian ate his takeout while listening to the gossip with relish, never expecting to become the subject of discussion himself.

Xu Qian who was leaning on Mu Lingling’s shoulder, her eyes half-closed due to drowsiness, said to him, “Shen Mian, you know someone likes you, right?”

Shen Mian didn’t expect to become the target of gossip, and his face was full of confusion.

He didn’t believe Xu Qian’s words and bit into a ginkgo nut, saying, “Who is it? If you tell me a name, then I’ll believe you.”

Xu Qian smiled and said, “I won’t tell. Isn’t that revealing someone’s privacy? But let me tell you, she’s a beauty.”

Shen Mian became even more incredulous and joked along, “If she’s really beautiful, I’ll agree immediately.”

Pei Zhiyi, who had been quiet all along, slapped Shen Mian and scolded him, “Are you that easy?”

Shen Mian felt wronged and said, “I was just joking.”

As he spoke, he leaned against Pei Zhiyi and asked him to peel the ginkgo nuts for him, lying in Pei Zhiyi’s arms, acting cute.

Pei Zhiyi wasn’t really angry with him. With a few quick movements, he peeled a small handful and brought it to Shen Mian’s lips.

Mu Lingling and Xu Qian watched that seamless interaction, stunned.

Xu Qian, having laughed too much earlier, now felt a bit lightheaded. She asked Mu Lingling in a daze, “Do you think they’re straight?”

Mu Lingling’s face turned red too, and she shook her head seriously, “If they were straight, there wouldn’t be any gay people in the world.”

Xu Qian asked again, “Do you think we can find boyfriends like them?”

Mu Lingling replied, “I think it’s difficult. maybe in our dreams.”

After they finished speaking, they both felt a sense of despair and drank another glass of cola.